'Trump's advisers are rattled' over self-created 'MAGA freakout': ex-Republican

President Donald Trump has no one to blame but himself for alienating part of his MAGA base, according to one prominent critic.

The president opened a two-week window to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran as he weighs whether to join Israel's military assault on its longtime nemesis, and former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger said he risked losing the isolationist wing of his coalition.

"True to form, he’s keeping his options open while the MAGA movement freaks out over the possibility," Kinzinger wrote on his Substack page.

"That freakout? Trump planted the seeds for it years ago," Kinzinger wrote. "He promised his base an isolationist foreign policy and, during his presidency, followed through with what he branded the 'America First' agenda. He repeatedly called NATO — the backbone of Western deterrence — 'obsolete,' and he made clear he wanted to sharply scale back America’s role in global alliances. He suspended aid to Ukraine as it fought off Russian invaders and slapped tariffs on allies while cozying up to dictators."

His base cheered those moves, but Kinzinger said the "America First" agenda made the U.S. and its allies less safe and threatened the prosperity built since the end of World War II, and he doesn't think Trump will pass the test presented by the Israel-Iran crisis.

"Trump finds himself caught in a civil war inside MAGA," Kinzinger wrote. "On one side are the anti-interventionists — Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and Marjorie Taylor Greene — demanding he keep his promise of disengagement. These folks make Neville Chamberlain look reasonable, at least he cared about the world. These folks would giggle if it burned down."

"On the other are interventionist Republicans like Senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Mike Rounds, and John Kennedy, all sounding the alarm about Iran’s nuclear ambitions," the former lawmaker added. "Graham summed it up bluntly: 'Either you want [Iran] to have a nuclear weapon, or you do not.'"

Bannon has warned that Trump could "blow up" his coalition if he intervenes against Iran, and video of Carlson pressing Cruz hard about the possibility of war exposed the fault lines.

"Trump’s advisers are reportedly rattled," Kinzinger wrote. "They see a tough choice between helping Israel and holding onto MAGA. But they’re missing something important: Trump could make the case for a strong U.S. stance to his base. He has the platform and the sway. He could lead."

"But let’s be honest — he won’t," Kinzinger added. "He’s too insecure, too self-absorbed, and too afraid of upsetting the crowd he built. This isn’t a man of principle or vision. It’s a man who stares at the polls, stokes division, and then hides behind his own followers when things get hard."